Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
The Toronto Marlies got another chance to look back before moving forward.
Immediate celebrations are memories. Free agency came and went. Summer parties with the Calder Cup are over. Training camp and preseason too. They took their season opener Friday against the Rochester Americans to push aside any remaining worries.
Today marked the 2026-27 home opener, 106 days after a 4-3 victory in Game 5 of the Calder Cup Final at Coca-Cola Coliseum gave the Marlies their second Calder Cup title for the franchise.
The last year is behind them. A late push in the regular season just to secure a playoff spot. Five playoff appearances, including wins over Rochester, Laval and Cleveland. Taking out Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the Eastern Conference finals. And knocking off Chicago to win the Cup. The 2025-26 Marlies team was slow cooked. Their 36-26-5-5 record in the regular season was good for a .569 hitting percentage, the lowest for the Calder Cup champions since 2002.
So there was plenty to look back on and savor as their championship banner headed for the rafters. But the Marlins also have a lot to look forward to.
The parent Toronto Maple Leafs have had a strong summer retooling their organizational depth chart to keep the Marlies strong. Easton Cowan and: Above Groolxthe two main playoff contenders are with the Leafs coming out of training camp. Defender Henry True (Manitoba Moose) and forward Alex Nylander (Calgary Wranglers) won out west.
But the Marlies largely avoided the dramatic roster losses that can come after a Calder Cup title. The organization also went out and signed several reliable free agents, including quarterback Cole Mcward and forward Brendan Brissonboth AHL All-Stars last season. Goalkeeper Samuel Hlavai comes from the Minnesota Wild organization (as well as the Slovakian Olympic team), and Henryk Rybinski spent four seasons at Hershey. McWard and Rybinski are Calder Cup champions themselves.
In all, 15 of the 20 players who dressed for Friday’s opener in Rochester spent time with the Marlies last season. Toronto’s locker room has time-tested know-how. Forward Vinnie Lettieri he’s back on a new two-year deal after leading the Calder Cup playoffs with 26 points (11 goals, 15 assists). Captain Logan Shaw also has a new contract extension that will keep him with the Marlins through 2027-28. The goalkeeper too Arthur AkhtyamovJack A.
Dakota Mermis and: Marshal Rifai are back on the blue line. The returning group of forwards includes Jacob Quilan, Ryan Tverberg, Mark Johnston, Michael Pezzetta, Reese Johnson and: Luke Hames. Even young people have experience. Ben Dunford and: Landon Sim Already have their names on the Calder Cup as they begin their first full AHL seasons this fall.
The noticeable change is the Marlies bench, where Steve Sullivan then takes over as head coach Jon Gruden moved to Leafs as an assistant. Sullivan brings with him 1,011 games of NHL experience. assistant coach Mark Giordano also has 1,148 NHL games.
Of course, there will be challenges. Four of Toronto’s first five contests are on the road. They have a six-game November stretch and their annual January road trip, this one going seven games. 24 games into the postseason, the games, bruises and injuries pile up quickly.
Confidence is crucial in sports and in a league that constantly tests it. This year’s Marlies team has already shown they can win the Calder Cup.
With more than two decades in the American Hockey League, TheAHL.com feature writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was awarded the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for outstanding coverage of the league in 2015-16.
